Tokyo - Japan's lower house on Friday voted in favour of a one-year extension to the Japanese military's logistical support mission for the US-led anti-insurgency fight in Afghanistan.

Japan refuels US ships and other navy vessels in the Indian Ocean, but is banned from direct military participation by its pacifist constitution.

The vote overruled an earlier decision by the upper house, which is controlled by the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DJP), against an extension of the mission, which runs out on January 15. 2009.

The more powerful lower house, where the ruling coalition of Prime Minister Taro Aso holds a solid majority, is empowered by the constitution to overturn upper house decisions.

Last year, the opposition forced a temporary halt to the mission by refusing to vote in the upper house, until Aso's predecessor, former prime minister Yasuo Fukuda moved ahead with a lower house vote.

The DJP argued that there is no UN mandate for the Afghanistan mission. (dpa)